Thoughts on a reading journey through a mountain of TBR…

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So just a quick post to say I’ve been in a bit of a blogging slump, and I’ve let life give me an excuse not to post. So clearly I needed a bit of a holiday away from blogging to give me a little perspective, do some research (IE read others’ blogs), get some ideas and make a plan.

I have been reading lots, keeping up with other blogs, and have been doing some commenting on discussion posts, which I plan to keep up and increase on next year.

I just wanted to say I plan to get back into it with gusto in the new year – I have some things planned to help me on the way 🙂 So thanks to those who’ve stuck around, I promise I’ll get back into it soon!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, and a safe and happy New Year to you all too.

I used the same flowers again and again: a bouquet of marigold, grief; a bucket of thistle, misanthropy; a pinch of dried basil, hatred. Only occasionally did my communication vary.

I placed a rhododendron on the plywood counter. The cluster of purple blossoms was not yet open and the buds pointed in his direction, tightly coiled and toxic. Beware.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey what words could not, from declarations of admiration to confessions of betrayal. For Victoria Jones, alone after a childhood in foster care, it is her way of expressing a legacy of grief and guilt. Believing she is damaged beyond hope, she trusts nobody, connecting with the world only through message-laden bouquets.

But when a mysterious man at the flower market responds in kind, Victoria is caught between fascinations and fear, and must decide whether she can open herself to the possibilities of happiness… and forgiveness.

MY THOUGHTS

After bouncing around foster homes and group homes her entire life, Victoria turns eighteen and is finally on her own. The book is written between the present where Victoria is eighteen and trying to make a life for herself, and the past where we go back to Victoria living in a foster home with Elizabeth, her foster mother who taught her all about flowers and their meanings. This is something that has stuck with Victoria, and she finds work at a florist, through which she comes across someone from her past. This makes her confront some things she probably hasn’t dealt with particularly well.

Over the course of the book we watch Victoria grow, learn how to build relationships, and integrate her history – and knowledge of the meanings and powers of flowers – into her new life. After she meets and gets to know Grant, she comes to learn more about what happened at Elizabeth’s. We watch her learn more about flowers, that they can have multiple meanings, and she begins to apply this to her life.

I loved that Victoria was trying to deal with her own stuff at the same time as she was using her talent to help others through flowers and their meanings. It gave me more dimensions to her and helped to break down the hard shell of protection Victoria was putting up. I really liked this book, it is well written and easy to read. As I watched Victoria grow I was rooting for her, I wanted her to win. This is a sweet book dealing with forgiveness and hope. Definitely recommend!

I started this blog for a couple of reasons. Firstly I read a lot. Always have. But I wanted to challenge myself to start thinking more about the books I read, and putting it out there in a coherent fashion seemed like a good way to ensure I give it a red hot go.

Secondly not many of my friends read as much as I do, and I like talking about the books I read! Or at least recommending the ones I like to people who will (hopefully) appreciate it.

Thirdly, as a bit of an escape from work. I’m a nurse educator, and my workday can be intense, out of control, and just plain BUSY.

For this award I need to tell you 7 things about myself.

1. My commute to work is a 2 hour round trip on the train, which is great because I get to read 🙂

2. My newest hobby is making my own soy candles. I can lose an entire afternoon playing around with colours and scents, and I love finding interesting jars, cups, tins to put candles in, and I love giving homemade gifts

6. I can’t function on minimal sleep. At all. Despite being a total night owl, the fact that I have to get up early for work means that I’m in bed by 9:30 usually. Yikes, hello Grandma…

7. My favourite wine is Moscato. Usually Brown Brothers

I’ve only been writing this blog for a short time, so I’m still just starting to make contact with others! In view of this, I’m nominating 2 blogs for this award:

Mary from Bookfan – I love reading her reviews and looking at her new book purchases!

Hannah from So Obsessed With – Her thoughts on book related topics are interesting and well written. Plus, I loved her obsession post on following and commenting habits. Glad I’m not the only one wondering how it all works and how other bloggers do it!

This is a blogging version of tag. In my opinion much more fun than the running around kind we used to play at school, because I get to tell you about me, and then tag some others to join in the fun!

So here goes. As with all good games, there are rules…

1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and eleven random facts about you.
3. Answer the questions given to you in the tagger’s post.
4. Create eleven new questions and tag new people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and let them know they have been tagged.

Eleven random facts about me…

I am a nurse educator in cancer nursing

I love to read (duh – so I’ll give you more). Predominantly fiction, but I do enjoy a good memoir or biography. I mainly read on my commute to work, and in bed at night.

I am currently trying to grow tomatoes in my back yard. Almost there I think!

Favourite TV series – Criminal Minds and Grey’s Anatomy

I make my own soy candles

I can knit, crotchet, and cross stitch

I have one sister and two brothers

I really dislike public speaking. Unfortunate as it is a not entirely small part of my job.

I have an addiction to hand cream & lip balm

I like to bake but I don’t do it that often (as I also like to eat…)

I have 3 best friends, another 10 or so close friends, and LOTS of acquaintances. I have lots of groups of friends. BUT, I am a major introvert.

Now, the questions Sara set for me –

1. If you could have lunch with anyone present, past, future, real or fictional who would you choose? I don’t know! The mind boggles. I’m quite bad at making decisions… Hmm, I’d love to chat to Chrissie Swan. I reckon she’d be good for a laugh. Reid from Criminal Minds and Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. I reckon that would be amusing. And Kathy Reichs, Matthew Reilly & Kerry Greenwood. Oh, and I’d have to bring my mum. How big is my lunch table??

2. What would you want to talk to them about? I’d like to talk to Chrissie about absolutely anything, watch Sheldon implode while arguing with talking to Reid, and Kathy, Matthew and Kerry about writing, their books and how they develop their characters, their consistency and longevity as authors…

3. What is your favourite colour? Blue, aqua, green, and purple. I get more than one, right?

4. Sweet or savoury? Sweet. All the way. This is a problem.

5.What are the top 3 things on your bucket list? Hmm. This is a tough one. I want to travel – at the moment specifically London and Ireland, and I want to do the Ghan up the guts of Australia. I want to own my own home. Preferably sooner rather than later. And I want to read War and Peace.

6. How is your day going? Much better now that I’m at home. There’s a bit of a flu outbreak at work, taking out lots of our staff…!

7. If you had unlimited resources what would you do? Pay my parent’s mortgage off, buy my own home, help my siblings out however they wish, and work with/help out cancer research and cancer foundations there to assist patients & families. Oh, and fix this current Health Budget disaster.

8. Who would you cast as yourself in a movie about you? I love Rachel McAdams characters – honesty, integrity, humour. And she’s gorgeous 🙂

9. Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry? Toss up between chocolate and vanilla.

10. Why is it so hot today? Australian summer is like that.

11. What’s the last thing you watched at the cinema? Les Miserables. And I LOVED IT. I cried… a couple of times.

Now, 11 questions for my tagees

1. Favourite movie

2. What is your drink of choice when reading?

3. What would you love for your next birthday?

4. Next book you plan to buy

5. Your absolute indulgence comfort food

6. How do you get to work?

7. Luxury beauty item you always splurge on

8. Facial/massage, or mani/pedi?

9. When reading a series do you go all out in a row, or break in between?

10. Grocery shopping – love or hate?

11. What is your favourite way to relax?

Now, I’m new-ish to this blogging thing, and have yet to make many blogging friends! In an effort to change this, I’m tagging the girls at two of my favourite blogs to read 🙂

Where to start? I decided to start this blog as I’ve been blogging on Blogspot for a little while now, but I wasn’t posting particularly often, and one of my 2013 goals is to post more often. So I thought I’d start fresh, and first things first, a change of scenery. WordPress seems really user friendly so I’m hoping that will mean I’ll put more thoughts out there. My aim is to post a mix of book type thoughts, reviews, and other random musings.

With a new year also comes a new travel-to-work mode, so I’m also reading more on the train… all the better to plough through my larger than realised TBR bookcase. Come along on the journey with me!